Ventura County Certified Farmers’ Market Association

The Ventura County Certified Farmers’ Market Association (VCCFMA), was formed in 1985 as a not for profit farmers’ cooperative and opened the first certified farmers’ market in Ventura County in 1986. The first market was opened as a revitalization project in Downtown Ventura and in 1989 a second market opened in Midtown Ventura to serve the residents of the east end. The Thousand Oaks Certified Farmers’ Market was opened in 1991, and in 1996 the Santa Clarita Certified Farmers’ Market was opened at College of the Canyons. All markets are open year-round.

To participate in a VCCFMA market all farmers must raise, gather, grow, catch or otherwise produce the products they sell and be certified by their county Agricultural Commissioner. All other market vendors must bake, cook or otherwise produce the food items they want to sell. As part of their mission, the VCCFMA does not allow commercial arts and crafts, commissioned sales, wholesale merchandise, resale products or booths inside the market for solicitation purposes of any kind. Farmer/ Vendor applications are available under the Vendor Information tab.

All VCCFMA markets participate in the following food assistance programs to help support healthy living:

Cal Fresh (SNAP) Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program and the Market Match program Cal Fresh customers can redeem their food benefits at the Market Information Booth by swiping their card for market tokens. The Market Match grant program extends the shopping benefits of Cal Fresh recipients shopping for fresh fruits and vegetables.  Market Match will match dollar for dollar (up to $10 daily) with free tokens for Cal Fresh customers using their Cal Fresh benefits. For more information on this grant program and for program redemption, please stop by the Market Information Booth.

WIC – All the VCCFMA markets accept the WIC FMNP Checks (seasonal), the Senior WIC FMNP Checks (seasonal), and the year-round WIC Fruit & Vegetable Checks (FVC’s). Redemptions are made directly with the farmers or food vendors who have the authorized foods on their tables. For questions on using your WIC checks in the market or help locating authorized foods, please stop by the Market Information Booth.